A New Parallel Corpus Approach to Japanese Learners' English, Using Their Corrected Essays

Miki, Nozomi

Themes in Science and Technology Education, v3 n1-2 p159-180 2010

This research introduces unique parallel corpora to uncover linguistic behaviors in L2 argumentative writing in the exact correspondence to their appropriate forms provided by English native speakers (NSs). The current paper targets at the mysterious behavior of I think in argumentative prose. I think is regarded as arguably problematic and controversial in L2 writing community; the overuse of this marker underscores the points, confusing logical development, while the rubric of argumentative writing tests such as TOELF and IELTS requires test-takers to write their personal views. Actually, I think is favoured as a booster in academic writing of particular disciplines. Our approach resolves this, investigating how I think was used in Japanese students' writing and corrected by NSs, specifically, how I think was deleted or kept by NSs. This is a promising method and immediately applicable to classroom teaching, where university students can receive feedback from our unique parallel corpora.